The Jeff Pulver Blog: Jerusalem ROCKS!: International Music Festival Update

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July 19, 2007

Jerusalem ROCKS!: International Music Festival Update

Jerusalem ROCKS! is a not-for-profit music festival I have been working on with my friends Jacob Ner-David and Carmi Wurtman which will be taking place on September 9th at Teddy Stadium in Jerusalem. Jerusalem ROCKS! is focused on bringing international musical events back to Jerusalem. The people of Jerusalem have been waiting over twenty years for an event like this and we feel that it is important for Jerusalem to remind its citizens, neighbors and the world that it is a center of pluralism and cultural diversity.

At this time I am looking for bloggers from both Israel and from around the world who would like to cover the show and help us promote the event. If you are interested in joining the blogging team for Jerusalem ROCKS! please email: jeffp@pulver.com and introduce yourself.

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Jerusalem ROCKS! - Fact Sheet

Description: Jerusalem ROCKS! International Music Festival to bring The Black Eyed Peas, Arrested Development, The Commitments and more to Israel on September 9, 2007.

Mission

For the first time ever, an international lineup of artists is being brought together in Jerusalem to perform on one stage in support of peace and unity. This musical event will take place on September 9, 2007 at Teddy Kollek Stadium in Jerusalem. Jerusalem Rocks will bring a line-up of artists from Israel and abroad, including The Commitments - with original members from the cast of the movie that won “The best Irish film of all time”(Jameson Awards, 2005) - and will be headlined by the Grammy Award winning band, The Black Eyed Peas - one of today’s most popular international acts.

Vision

Music is an excellent way to break down societal barriers. We hope that the international media attention focused on this positive, cultural event and the worldwide resonance of Israeli, Arab and international artists along with tens of thousands of fans celebrating unity will bring the world to explore their own connections and feelings toward the Middle East while reinforcing the image of Jerusalem as a city of peace.

Why the event?

While there have been festivals for peace and unity, there is yet to be an event that specifically brings artists of this caliber together in Jerusalem to support these ideals. We hope that this will be a step towards showing the world that we are dedicated to the ideas of peace and unity.

What does it solve?

As the producers of The One Shekel Festival, we see the importance of making culture available to all rungs of society. Creating an international festival of this size at affordable prices will enable families of all economic status to experience a performance of this magnitude while showing their support for peace. Further, production restraints and venue size have made Jerusalem a difficult place to produce such events in the past. It is important to reestablish Jerusalem as a cultural capital.

The Organizers

Carmi Wurtman: Co-Founder and Producer, Carmi has an extensive resume of productions, including The One Shekel Festival (which he also co-founded) which brings 20,000 people from poor communities every year to see lineups that include the most well known Israeli musicians for only one shekel, A Gift To Israel – a tenshow tour that brought 3 American musicians to Israel teamed with Israeli artists, Unwire Jerusalem – the event that kicked off wireless internet in downtown Jerusalem, WorldPride Jerusalem 2006 and the recently released Sony DVD, Matisyahu “Live In Israel”.

Jacob Ner-David: Co-Founder and Co-Producer, Jacob is Founder and Managing Partner of Jerusalem Capital, a venture fund focused on the Technology-Enabled Services (TES) sector in Israel. Jacob has been a successful serial entrepreneur for more than a decade, creating billions of dollars in shareholder value. He has built, managed, and successfully exited four companies, two of which were considered market leaders in the TES sector. Jacob has been named by Unstrung as one of the top 25 wireless executives in the world, and a "Voice on the Net Pioneer" by pulver.com. Jacob is a co-founder and Chairman of Digital Jerusalem, a non-profit focused on creating projects to advance the city of Jerusalem.

Bryan Steiner: Co-Producer, Bryan is president and partner of 2b Vibes. Besides work on the long list of productions (Matisyahu Live in Israel, The One Shekel Festival, etc.), Bryan has owned and operated a record label and worked extensively with artists in both the U.S. and Israel in areas as varied as personal management - including setting up and managing international tours - and musical production. Jonathan Schwartz: Co-Producer and Musical Director, Jonathan has been working in the music industry in New York City for over ten years. As a partner in the Zenbu Media Group, he manages the marketing department of four separate music magazines including Relix, the second longest running music publication in the U.S. Jonathan also runs the Relix record division, an internationally distributed label including several Grammy Award winners and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees. Jonathan is also a Producer of the “Jammy Awards,” the premier grassroots music award show in the U.S. held annually at Madison Square Garden’s Theater, and was a Co-Producer of the inaugural 2006 Green Apple Music & Arts Festival, the largest Earth Day event in the United States comprised of over 70 concerts in 30 venues around New York City.

Jeff Pulver: Co-Founder and Executive Producer, Jeff is the founder of pulver.com, an incubator for Internet based Innovations started in 1994. Jeff is one of the true pioneers of the VoIP industry, a leader in the emerging TV on the Net industry and a great friend of the Israeli Hi-Tech community. He is known globally as a renowned thought leader, blogger and entrepreneur. Additionally, Mr. Pulver is the founder of: Pulvermedia, Network2, FWD (Free World Dialup), the VON Coalition and Vivox and is the co-founder of Vonage.

Yehuda Katz: Co-Founder and Artistic Advisor, Yehuda has been on the local Israeli music scene for 13 years as the lead singer of Reva L'sheva. He is the founder and musical director of Israel's first traveling festival, Am Yisrael Chai, musical director 10 years running of the annual tribute concert to Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach, director and founder of Artists And Musicians for Israel, a non-profit organization, and musical producer of more than 15 albums.

Institutional Partners

Jerusalem Foundation: The Jerusalem Foundation, founded by legendary Mayor Teddy Kollek in 1966, is an independent, non-profit, community foundation, which supports projects in the city in seven key areas: social services, youth and education, diversity and tolerance, arts and culture, parks and recreation, history and heritage and maintaining Jerusalem as a leading cosmopolitan city.

Digital Jerusalem: Digital Jerusalem is a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing innovative projects to the people of Jerusalem. Because of their efforts, downtown Jerusalem today enjoys free wireless internet access and will soon enjoy perhaps the biggest musical event in the history of the city.

Contact Info:

Email: jeff@pulver.com

Website: http://www.jerusalemrocks.co.il (launching soon!)